Dani Christian
Daniela Marisol Martinez (born March 15th, 1993) is a Filipina-American professional wrestler currently performing in the independent circuit under the stage name, Dani Christian. Hailing from Baltimore, the fiery young woman is anything but fragile despite her small size. After graduating college, the then 22-year-old Daniela left her home and her extremely strict, sheltered home life and went off with her best friend south of the border to learn how to wrestle, which she felt was her purpose in life. Learning the art of Lucha Libre, Daniela managed to excel due to her small frame and her quick, high-risk-high-reward and eye-catching Lucha wrestling style. She is currently sharing an apartment with her best friend, Stella Moore. Early Life Dani Christian was born Daniela Marisol Martinez in Baltimore, Maryland, and is of Filipino descent. She was the only child of Joshua and Aleisha Martinez, and she lived a somewhat sheltered life growing up in a strict Christian household. Her mother was a nurse and her father was a car mechanic. At a young age, Daniela was a fan of professional wrestling. Weekends sitting in front of the television watching wrestling shows instilled in her a love and a passion for the sport which soon translated into a desire to become a wrestler herself. Four months after she graduated college in 2015, Daniela relocated to Mexico with her best friend Stella and enrolled into retired luchadora, La Estrella Escarlata’s, Escuela de Lucha Libre, a wrestling school located in Tijuana where she trained for eleven months, working as the assistant manager of a Mexican restaurant to make ends meet as she trained. Career Early Career After her graduation from the Escuela de Lucha Libre, Daniela returned to Baltimore and made her pro wrestling debut on February 2017 for an independent promotion based in the area under the pseudonym Dani Christian, meant as a mocking joke by one of the bookers in reference to her Christian upbringing and faith though Dani took the name now she uses it with a sense of pride. Her debut match was at a show in a high school gym, versus a more experienced wrestler who was on her way up the ladder of the promotion. She surprised her opponent, as well as the small crowd of twenty people, with her ferocity and her high flying capabilities. While Daniela ultimately lost the match, she clearly impressed some people as she made her exit to the sound of cheers. Afterward, Daniela spent the next nine months making connections within the independent circuit, moving from company to company in order to build up her already impressive skills as well as her confidence in the ring. It was during this time when she would ask the bookers to book her against opponents who were larger, were more experienced or who were just as quick as she was. With every win and loss, she gained a little more experience. Quite regularly, Daniela would also question more experienced wrestlers on her matches, the mistakes she made and how to learn from them and how to get by in the world of wrestling. Daniela's talent and passion for pro wrestling did not go unnoticed. With her "audition" tape in circulation, as of December 2017 Daniela has been taking calls from the next promoter looking to add Dani Christian to their roster. Personal Life Although Dani Christian is a brash, rebellious youth possessed of suicidal overconfidence and a willingness to sacrifice her body for the win, Daniela Martinez, the person who plays the role. is practically the opposite of her alter-ego. When she is not performing, Daniela is altogether a humble and, ironically, non-violent young woman. She is largely estranged from her parents. She has barely spoken with either of them since she left for Mexico to begin her training as a wrestler. The person whom she is closest with is her childhood friend Stella Moore, whom she had known since they were both five years old. They are currently living together in Baltimore, Maryland. Daniela is an avid fan of rock music and metal, despite her strict Christian parents claims that it was the “Devil’s Music.” In an interview, she revealed that the Beatles, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and Motorhead rank among her favourite bands. She has even made reference to certain songs with her signature moves, namely, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” by the Beatles, “All Guns Blazing,” by Judas Priest and “Rebel Yell,” by Billy Idol. She is able to speak Spanish with some fluency in thanks to her time in Mexico as well as her Filipino heritage. Also due to her heritage, Daniela is also able to speak Tagalog with at least partial fluency. Daniela underwent conversion therapy at age fourteen when she was caught experimenting with another girl. Discussing this particularly dark chapter of her private life is something which Daniela absolutely refuses to do with anyone, and has once promptly cut an interview short when allusions to it were made by the interviewer. In spite of this, she still remains a devout Christian although her time on the road and performing leaves her little time to practice her faith. She is currently in a relationship with Mark Greenewood, an aspiring actor. Wrestling Persona From Daniela’s first days as a green rookie (which, technically she still is), the persona of Dani Christian has since developed from an awkward girl into a young rebel who would not hesitate to beat the living daylights out of anyone if the need called for it. While she knows her aerial manoeuvres are effective against most opponents, she can modify her tactics dependent on who she's up against. When up against people who are larger than she is (e.g. most people), an already scrappy Dani tends to become a little scrappier, however, especially if her opponent were to make fun of her height beforehand. Dani's recklessness and hotheadedness is often portrayed as a character flaw, as well as her overpowering reluctance to answer to any form of authority or to deal with the consequences of her actions. In the ring, Dani has made a habit of trying to "mock" her opponents during matches, and sometimes even mirror their actions. For example: if said opponent doubled over to go for a back body drop, Dani is likely to suddenly skid to a halt and double over herself right in front of the opponent, just to make them look silly. She also has a habit of standing on people while they're on the mat to mock them and also make herself appear taller. In Wrestling Finishing Moves * Dani in the Sky with Diamonds (DSD) - 450 Splash, either from the top rope or springboard * All Guns Blazing - Running Shotgun Dropkick * Rebel Yell - Springboard Jumping Cutter Signature Moves * Twirly Bird - Corkscrew Enzuigiri * Goomba Stomp - Double Foot Stomp, often following a Spinebuster * Spinebuster* * Hurricanrana (Standing, top rope, springboard etc.) * Cartwheel (as a reversal) * Jumping Cutter * Tiger Feint * Elevated Superkick * Twisting Sunset Flip Powerbomb * Snap Dragon Suplex* * One Handed Spinning Neckbreaker * Springboard Tornado DDT * Running Crossbody * Plancha * Belly to Belly Suplex* * Springboard Forearm Smash * Moonsault * Superkick to stomach or legs * Standing Shooting Star Press * Snap suplex* * Headscissors Takedown * Tilt-a-Whirl DDT * Running Bulldog * Baseball Slide Dropkick to the corner * Stiff running forearm to seated opponent in the corner * Moonsault Footstomp * Meteora * Powerbomb* * Sleeper Hold * Modified Fujiwara Armbar * Octopus Hold * Used on opponents of roughly equal size. Nicknames * #FearlessAF * The Pint-sized Powerhouse * The Lil' Renegade Championships and Titles Entrance Theme * “Renegade (AmaLee Cover)” by Studio Dive Foundation (current) Category:Female Wrestlers